Daven Tamayo

Alex Eala battles Elina Svitolina in rematch with DC Open semis spot on the line

Article (news)

John Franklin Kennedy Caacbay

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17854953143681785495316909.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Alexandra Eala of the Philippines looks on during a women&#x27;s singles match against Leylah Fernandez of Canada during day three of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2026 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. <em>Emilee Chinn, Getty Images/AFP </em></span></span></span></div><p>Alex Eala is set for a rematch with Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina — this time, a Final Four berth at the Mubadala DC Open is at stake.</p><p>Eala defeated the World No. 10 Svitolina on grass, 6-4, 6-3, at the Berlin Open quarterfinal last month — one of the Pinay tennis ace’s top 10 wins in her breakthrough grass season.</p><p>Eala and Svitolina will tackle each other once more on hardcourt, a different surface since they last played five weeks ago in Germany.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/7/31/coach-bosch-says-eala-finding-her-rhythm-at-the-perfect-time-1134"><strong>READ: Coach Bosch says Eala finding her rhythm at the perfect time<br/></strong></a></div><p>And as expected, the higher-ranked opponent of Eala is hoping to exact revenge against the hungry Filipina.</p><p>“Tomorrow is a new surface, new country, a new city, so it&#x27;s a new challenge, and hopefully I&#x27;m going to draw some confidence from today&#x27;s match and carry it into tomorrow,” said Svitolina after winning over Uzbekistan&#x27;s Polina Kudermetova, shifting her focus to Eala.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/7/30/alex-eala-shows-grit-resiliency-in-face-of-tough-challenge-by-defending-champ-fernandez-1240"><strong>READ: Alex Eala shows grit, resiliency in face of tough challenge by defending champ Fernandez<br/></strong></a></div><p>The second seed advanced to the quarterfinals after eliminating Kudermetova, 7-6(4), 6-4, in the Round of 16.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/7/30/tennis-alex-eala-leylah-fernandez-mubadala-dc-open-result-0104"><strong>READ: Tennis: Alex Eala dethrones Fernandez, advances to DC Open q&#x27;finals<br/></strong></a></div><p>Eala, for her part, dethroned defending champion Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 7-6(1), yesterday to be in the Last 8.</p><p>And for coach Joan Bosch, he is pleased with how the 21-year-old tennis is faring in her North American hard-court swing.</p><p>“I’m super happy she’s [Alex Eala] doing well,” Bosch said. “It’s just the start of the US hard-court season. It’s a good start for sure.”</p><p>“Alex became better and better,” he said. “She didn’t play too many points before coming here, so the first set against Qinwen was very important to win.”</p><p>The Eala-Svitolina rematch is scheduled for Saturday, 6:30 a.m. (Philippine time). <strong>— with a report from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News</strong></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hr21b52OC-M??si=FZgjCW1JsXU1l_KP&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span> </strong></div>

<p>Alex Eala is set for a rematch with Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina — this time, a Final Four berth at the Mubadala DC Open is at stake.</p>

Alex Eala is set for a rematch with Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina — this time, a Final Four berth at the Mubadala DC Open is at stake.